Hiram r



(NoMoael.)

H. R. MGGALMONT. DEVICE F011 PROTBGTING POSTAGE STAMPS.

. Patented Apr. 23, 1889.,

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HIRAM R. MOOALMONT, OF IVARREN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR O F ONE-HALF `TO VILLIAM J. JOHNSTON, OF VASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

DEVICE FOR PROTECTING POSTAGE-STAMPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.401,961, dated April 23, 1889.

l Application led March 7, 1889. Serial No. 302,357. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, I-IIRAM R. MCOALMONT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Varren, in the county of Warren and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Protecting Postage-Stamps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to postage-stamp protectors; and it consists in certain details of construction and arrangement of parts, hereiuafter more specifically described in the specification,illustrated in the drawings, and pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to prevent the destruction or injury of postage, revenue,

or other stamps provided with an adhesive surface easily affected by moisture, and which injury or destruction results from their adhering together orto the contents or lining of pocket-books or envelopes inelosing them when carried about the person in warm weather, and which is caused by the moisture given off by the body. Inv order to accomplish this result I provide a stamp-holder consisting of alternate sheets of tissue-paper, thin fabric, or their equivalents for holding the stamps, which will readily become satu-. rated with moisture, and absorbent sheets of thicker material, preferably blotting-paper, one of the' former being interposed between two of the latter, and the whole inclosed between covers of pasteboard, oil-cloth, or other non-absorbent material in the form of a book. In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view representing my protector open, with the stamps upon the thin or tissue sheet. Figi) is a perspective view showing the reverse side of the tissue sheet, with the back of the stamps outlined in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a section through the line x 0c of Fig. l.

- Referring more particularly to the drawings, A represents the outside covers, which, as before stated, may be composed of pasteboard, oil-cloth, or other non-absorbent substance;` B, the absorbent sheet of blottingpaper or other suitable substance; C, the tissue sheet upon which the stamps are placed for protection, and D the stamps.

It is a well-known fact that great annoyance and inconvenience is experienced when stamps are carried about the person, especially in warm weather, by the softening of the adhesive substance contained on their backs by the moisture given off from the body, causing them to adhere to each other or to any surface with which they are in contact, so that they are frequently mutilated and rendered useless in efforts to disengage them. These inconveniences and difficulties are overcome in my device, as follows:

The adhesive surface of the stamp is slightly moistened and the stamp placed upon the face of theY tissue sheet, as shown in Fig. l, and readily adheres and is kept in place. It will be obvious that a very slight degree of moisture is necessary to cause the stamp to adhere to the tissue sheet, and the thinness of the sheet will cause it readily to part with or give up such moisture from the rcverse side to the adjacent absorbent sheet or blotter B. Vhen the requisite number of stamps have been placed upon the tissue sheets, the book is closed and placed in the pocket, and the stamps are held in place apartfrom each other upon the surface of the tissue sheets, without any liability or possibility of becoming displaced or detached, or of adhering to any other substance than the tissue-paper when the adhesive substance becomes softened by the moisture given off from the body.

When it is desired to detach a stamp for use, the book is opened and the reverse side of the tissue-sheet opposite the backV of the stamp is moistened by the lips or tongue or by any other means, and the tissue-paper, being thin and easily saturated with moisture, allows it to almost instantly penetrate to the adhesive substance on the back of the stamp, thereby softening said adhesive substance and permitting the stamp to be at once detached from the tissue sheet and used. The stamp-holder is then closed and the adjacent absorbent sheets B at once take up the moisture contained in the tissue-sheet, and when the stamps thereon have been exhausted a new supply may be attached, as before.

The device may also be used for advertising purposes without interfering with its usefulness as a stamp-protector, the advertise- IOO tissue-paper, thin fabric, or their equivalents, to which the stamps are t0 be gunnned, and interposed alternately between a series of sheets of blotting-paper and a pair of inelosing-eovers of pasteboard, wood, or other suitable substance, all combined or arranged substantially as and for the purpose described'.

In testimony whereof I afx my si gnature in presence of two Witnesses.

HIRAM R. MCCALMONT.

Witnesses:

W. F. GARDNER, L. HARRISON. 

